Ecuadoran appeals court upholds libel conviction

New York, September 20,
2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed
by an Ecuadoran appeals court ruling
today upholding a criminal libel conviction against four El Universo
newspaper managers in a case brought by President Rafael Correa.

"We are deeply disappointed by the court's decision to
uphold this conviction against El Universo, which sets a dangerous legal precedent and is a blow to
freedom of expression in Ecuador," said Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program
coordinator for the Americas. "Today's decision gives cover to those seeking to
silence a critical press. Ecuadoran authorities must, at minimum, debate
measures to reform obsolete defamation laws so that they conform to
international press freedom standards."

Correa filed suit in March against El Universo
executives Carlos Pérez Barriga, César Pérez Barriga, and Nicolás Pérez Barriga
(who are brothers), along with opinion editor Emilio Palacio, who has since
resigned. The lawsuit, which stemmed from a biting column published
in El Universo , resulted
in prison terms and multimillion-dollar fines against the defendants. A
recent CPJ special
report found that Ecuador's
outdated criminal defamation provisions have been used to punish critical
journalists.